The availability of a unified essential medicines list (EML) with evidence-based clinical efficacy to be used by the Ministry of Health (MOH) for the state-guaranteed package of services is an essential part of the successful launch of the health care reform initiative in Ukraine. This required the development and institutionalization of a process to ensure sustainability into the future rather than a one-off list of essential medicines. The main task of SIAPS was the provision of technical assistance to the Government of Ukraine to solve the problem of medicines list harmonization, which was needed to review and update the NEML to be the sole list for procurement or reimbursement with public funds, and to develop legislative documentation to institutionalize the process. The work was performed in cooperation with the MOH and the State Expert Center.

Upon receiving an invitation from the Right Honourable Prime Minister of Swaziland, Dr Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini, SIAPS provided technical assistance to the task team appointed to examine the problem of inconsistent availability of essential medicines. Recent media reports and routine assessments conducted by the SIAPS Program indicated frequent stock-outs of essential medicines and medicinal supplies, […]

This guide is designed to take country-level pharmaceutical and financing experts through the System of Health Accounts (SHA) framework as a potential approach that can be adapted to track pharmaceutical expenditures. The guide also reviews important first steps that must be considered to operationalize pharmaceutical expenditure tracking. It is intended to serve as a foundation for a wider conversation about pharmaceutical expenditure tracking approaches and to bring attention to key normative issues including expenditure definitions and boundaries that will need to be addressed before full-scale implementation guidelines for pharmaceutical expenditure tracking can be fully adopted.

To take systems strengthening support to the next level, SIAPS is introducing a web-based enhanced information graphic display platform. The dashboard features data from each health facility and supply structure and will provide real-time access to patient and commodity information. The end goal is for the dashboard to be used to visualize graphic data on health programs, patient uptake, and stock status in about 1,300 health facilities in all districts of the country.

Background Within the framework of health sector reform, the National Health Service (Servicio Nacional de Salud) of the Dominican Republic has been implementing the Integrated System for Medicine and Supply Management (Sistema Único de Gestión de Medicamentos e Insumos, or SUGEMI) in the public health services network. Its objective is to improve public access to […]

The WHO estimates that more than 50% of all medicines are prescribed, dispensed or sold inappropriately, and that 50% of all patients fail to take them correctly. The overuse, underuse or misuse of medicines—also known as irrational use of medicines—results in wastage of scarce resources, increased risk of adverse drug reactions, and widespread health hazards, […]

The Ministry of Public Health (Ministerio de Salud Pública, or MSP) of the Dominican Republic organized the High-Cost Medicines Program (Programa de Medicamentos de Alto Costo, or PMAC) in 2008[i] to facilitate clinical care for patients with very rare diseases and high-cost treatment, such as cancers unresponsive to conventional treatments, rheumatoid arthritis, hepatitis C, and […]

The National Essential Medicines List (NEML) of the Dominican Republic had not been updated since 2005. Over the course of 2012 and 2013, some therapeutic groups and specific lists of disease control programs, such as HIV and tuberculosis, were revised, but they were not consolidated and validated as a national list. In May 2014 the […]